Heidi Mok

At the intersection of design, data, and development.

My name is Heidi—creative problem solver, digital product designer, systems thinker, teacher, runner, and map lover. My mission is to discover and translate the "aha" moments of life into thoughtful experiences that improve the way people live, work, and play.

Currently I am a Senior Product Designer at a tech company based in Toronto called Kira Systems where I help shape a machine learning software system through design. In January I will also be a sessional instructor at OCADU teaching a course on Systems Thinking.

Previously I was a Manager of Design Strategy at Bridgeable where I spent 8 years applying human-centered design methods of problem solving to business challenges, collaborating on small and large scale innovation projects in Canada and the US spanning healthcare, financial services, retail, and non-profit.

I hold a MA in Advanced Spatial Analysis and Visualization from UCL (University College London) and a BA in Industrial Design from OCAD University.

Areas of Impact

Design. Applying the design process to diverse industries, particularly in international and urban development.

How can we apply methods of service design, systems thinking, and rapid prototyping to our world's most messy and systemic challenges?

How can we co-exist with machines in honest, empowering, and equitable ways? How can we leverage technology in low-income markets that do not follow traditional formats?

Development. Humanitarian action—people helping other people—at the local and global scale.

How can we build sustainable supply chains based on shared values between stakeholders and effectively grow products, services, and business models in environments that lack supporting systems and processes?

Values

Make Connections

Look for the invisible lines that connect things together.

Wonder Why

Go a layer deeper to get to the heart of something.

Zoom In/Out

Scale out to see how things fit within a broader context.

Show Process

Don’t wait for perfect before sharing work.

Capabilities

Translating Research to Action

Moving from head knowledge to ideas that can be implemented in the real world

Facilitating Creativity

Planning and facilitating participatory workshops to help diverse groups bring their ideas to life

Understanding the current and future state experience of financial service customers and identifying opportunities to improve those experiences.

Uncovering Cannabis Enthusiasts’ Buying Experiences

Understanding how cannabis enthusiasts make purchasing decisions, how they assess quality, and what their behavioural differences are through live learning lab sessions.

The Future of Patient Experience

Supporting a large healthcare organization to develop an innovative enterprise-wide strategy and approach to patient-centricity.

Microfinance Reboot

Helping a microfinance organization improve their existing lending and mentorship model for entrepreneurs living with mental illness and addictions based on shared needs between the organization and their clients.

Secondhand clothing donation service design

Designing a clothing donation service that makes the process of giving away your old clothes more dependable and socially-minded.

Innovation Training

Co-leading a 2.5 day hands-on innovation training workshop for multi-disciplinary staff members at St. Lawrence College to achieve their goal of helping students develop the innovation skills required to be successful in the workforce.

Co-Creating Models of Alzheimer's Care

Overcoming uncertainties in strategic planning within the Alzheimer's care space by co-creating likely future scenarios with leading specialists, payers, administrators, and technologists.

Linking Citizens and Open Data

Exploring and prototyping a workflow to teach citizens how to use open data in a meaningful way.

Visual Marathon

Exploring 2D and 3D methods of visualizing race data from the 2015 London Marathon. The video lives here.